Proceedings

Microarray based genetic profiling of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from abattoir byproducts of pork origin

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Abstract

Roughly 23 million tons of pork meat are processed in the European Union annually with a rising tendency. A significant proportion of this meat is wasted during processing either due to shortcomings in the handling of sidestreams or due to low consumer acceptance and therefore limited marketability of products. In other parts of the world, especially various Asian regions, pig ear or pig tongue and other byproducts are considered a delicacy of great value. Also, in Europe, the movement of “nose to tail” eating has gained recognition in gastronomy and among the general public in recent years. It aims at utilizing all parts of an animal, giving special attention to the culinary potential of offal. Currently, information on the safety of such products is limited, and information on the occurrence of Staphylococcus aureus is missing. S. aureus is a common skin colonizing organism responsible for staphylococcal food poisoning (SFP). In 2015, EFSA reported 434 food-borne outbreaks due to staphylococcal enterotoxins (SE). Of these, 85 outbreaks were associated with meat or meat products. Generally, pork meat production has raised concern due to the transmission of livestock associated- methicillin-resistant S. aureus (LA-MRSA) from animals to humans. The most prevalent MRSA lineage in Europe is CC398, while in Asia CC9 is more frequent. The genetic profiles of S. aureus isolated from neck, belly, back, and ham of pig carcasses in Switzerland have been reported, but little is known about the occurrence of S. aureus on slaughtering byproducts.

How to Cite:

Etter, D., Julmi, J., Hochreutener, M., Morach, M., Käppeli, N., Stephan, R. & Johler, S., (2019) “Microarray based genetic profiling of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from abattoir byproducts of pork origin”, SafePork 13(1), 150-151. doi: https://doi.org//safepork.11402